Deaths from equipment accidents up from last year

Equipment accidents killed 16 people and injured another seven people in October, a spokesman for the country’s top quality watchdog said on Friday.

The country saw 14 accidents involving special equipment, including seven elevator accidents and four crane accidents, said Chen Xitong, spokesman for the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

The number of accidents involving special equipment is 22.2 percent less than the same period last year and the number of deaths is 33.3 percent higher, according to the authority.

Violations of safety rules are responsible for most of the accidents, Chen said.